IPL 7: Knights cruise into finals

Updated on May 29, 2014 4:26 pm

1 / 8

In the first Qualifier, the Kings XI Punjab were up against the Kolkata Knight Riders. George Bailey won the toss and invited Kolkata to bat first. Once again it was Robin Uthappa who gave his team a good start. Uthappa made a 30-ball 42, his tenth consecutive score of forty or above. (Source: IE Photo by Partha Paul)

2 / 8

Punjab's most successful spinner Akshar Patel again provided crucial breakthroughs for his team. He chipped in with the wickets of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. Patel finished with impressive figures of 2/11 from his four overs. (Source: IE Photo by Partha Paul)

3 / 8

The hero of the last match, Yusuf Pathan was a flop in this match as young spinner Karanveer Singh had him caught at long-on when Kolkata board read 108. Pathan was out after scoring 20 off 18 balls. Karanveer finished with figures of 3 for 40 off his four overs. (Source: IE Photo by Partha Paul)

4 / 8

With small cameos from the lower order, Kolkata managed a competitive 163/8 from their 20 overs. Piyush Chawla scored a 9-ball 17 that was important in the context of the game. (Source: BCCI/IPL)

5 / 8

Defending 163/8, Kolkata could not have asked for a better start as the quick bowlers provided the initial wickets. Umesh Yadav struck with his first ball accounting for the wicket of the dangerous Virender Sehwag. This was a dream match for Yadav who finished with figures of 3/13 from his four overs. (Source: BCCI/IPL)

6 / 8

Punjab's chase was interrupted by rain on several occasions. After the match was postponed by a day on Tuesday, rain could have played spoilsport but it was not to be as the Gods kept the dark clouds away after a small drizzle. (Source: IE Photo by Partha Paul)

7 / 8

Punjab lost wickets at regular intervals, and after they lost Manan Vohra, no batsmen looked settled. Kolkata cruised upon their bowling and inched closer towards victory. Rishi Dhawan was out stumped by Robin Uthappa off Shakib-al-Hasan's bowling after scoring 14 runs off 15 balls. (Source: BCCI/IPL)

8 / 8

Players of both the teams shake hands as Kolkata beat Punjab by 28 runs to enter the final. Punjab still has a chance to make it to the finals as they face Chennai Super Kings in the second eliminator on Friday. (Source: IE Photo by Partha Paul)